Donal McCann

Donal McCann was an Irish actor of stage, film and television whose reputation was closely tied to the plays of Brian Friel. Born in Dublin, he trained part-time at the Abbey School of Actors and joined the Abbey Players later in the 1960s. His early stage work included Cuchulainn in On Baile Strand and Estragon in Waiting for Godot, playing opposite Peter O'Toole. He was Gar O'Donnell in a 1970 film version of Philadelphia, Here I Come! and gave a landmark performance as Frank Hardy in Faith Healer in 1980, returning to the part in 1994. His best-known screen role was Gabriel Conroy in John Huston's The Dead (1987), and he later appeared in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty (1996) and Neil Jordan's High Spirits (1988). He received a Best Actor award from the Critics Circle Theatre in 1995. His television work included Phineas Finn in the BBC's The Pallisers and Barney Mulhall in Strumpet City. He died in 1999.